Katelyn Jetelina – Your Local Epidemiologist: “…Should I get a fourth dose? – The original booster continues to do a great job at preventing hospitalization and death. There is some evidence that this is waning over time, though. Your decision should be driven by weighing benefits with risks:

• Benefit: There is evidence from Israel (2 studies here, here) that shows a fourth dose provides additional protection for older adults. The benefit isn’t nearly as drastic as a third dose, but benefit is there. For example, among a sample of 1,138,681 Israelis aged 60+ years, a fourth dose reduced the rate of infection by 2 times and reduced the rate of severe disease by 4 times. Preventing infection will also reduce chances of long COVID.
• Risk: The vaccine poses very, very low risks. Some people (like me) do experience side effects, which puts you out of commission for a few days. If you can’t miss work or don’t have sick time then this may outweigh the benefits for healthy individuals right now. (Although you would have to miss more work if you were infected.)

To me, the benefits of a fourth dose outweigh the risks, so I’m supportive of a fourth dose booster for those who are eligible…”